â—â—g â—4 â— 43. is it not recorded as their remisness that they were not by them demolished Howbeit they forc'd none no not to sacrifice to the true God in the high-places but suffered it in those that did And although Jehoash Amaziah Azariah and Jotham did many things that were right in the sight of the Lord yet did not they all leave standing the high-places and under their Reigns and Government did not the people still sacrifice and burn Incense in the high-places which by the Law of God was not lawful for them to do but in the Temple only And as to the courage and fidelity of Hezekiah and the zeal and piety of Josiah and their more thorow Reformation so much spoken of to wit their throwing down the high-places as well those which by the former Reformers were left standing as those which after were built and their breaking down the Altars and casting out the Images and their countenancing the true Worshippers and encouraging the Worship of God according to the Law and Covenant of God all which as aforesaid is objected by some as examples for Christian Magistrates to follow and for them therefore to exercise their Authority as to matters of Religion To which I answer If the Lord put it into the hearts of Christian Magistrates so far to tread in the steps of the good Kings of Judah as to encourage the true Worship of God which is in Spirit and in Truth and not after the inventions of men and to protect God's true Worshippers in their Worship of God and to exercise their Authority for the removing the heaps of high-places in Christendom which neither were built either by pattern or Command from God and for the demolishing of their eminent places with their Altars within them and Popish Images about them who of the Lord's People would be grieved therewith for which reade 2 Chron. 34. 3 4. 2 Kings 23. 18. 4. 2 Chron. 30. 14. Numb 33. 52. Deut. 7. 5. 12. 2 3. And as before it is observed Was it not recorded as the remisness of the former good Kings of Judah That the High-places were not removed though in them the people sacrificed to the true God only But did those good Magistrates and Reformers in the Church and Commonwealth of Judah at all prescribe to God his Worship or did they administer their Power for the execution of their own wills concerning the Worship of God Was not their Authority by them exercised for the establishment of the Law of God and his Ordinances for his Wolship and Service according as by Moses was declared and written before them and for the keeping of God's Testimonies which by God was testified in his Spirit by his Prophets and in their own consciences For did not Iosiah make a Covenant before the Lord To walk after the Lord and to keep his Commandments and his Testimonies 2 Châ—â— 34. â—â— and his Statutes with all his heart and with all his soul and to perform the words of the Covenant which were written in the Book that was found in the House of the Lord And of Hezekiah is it not said That 2 Kiâ—â— 18. â—â— he clave to the Lord and departed not from following him but kept his Commandments which the Lord commanded Moses And of Iehosaphat is it 2 Câ—â—â—7 4â— not said That he sought to the Lord God of his Father and walked in his Commandments and not after the doings of Israel And when Asa had taken away the Altars of the strange gods and the High-places c. did not he command Iudah or rather as it is in some Translation he 2 Châ— 14. 4â— said unto Iudah that they should seek the Lord God of their Fathers and do after the Law and Commandments And was not the uprightness of their hearts such as to the Lord his Law and Commands to them in what they did as that their Commands by the people were obeyed as the words and Commandments of God as it is written 2 Chr. 29. 15. And they gathered their Brethren and sanctified themselves and came according to the Commandment of the Kings by the words of the Lord c. for they in their Commands obeying the Word of the Lord the Hand of the Lord was so upon the people as that they obeyed their Commands as the Word of the Lord as it is written 2 Chr. 30. 12. Also in Judah the Hand of God was to give them one heart to do the Commandment of the King and of the Princes by the Word of the Lord. But to conclude both as to Christian Magistrates and also as to Heathen Magistrates If Heathen Magistrates command Christians even in the matters of Religion the Commandments of the Lord only and not their own against their Lords are they not even by Christians to be submitted unto for the Lords sake And if Christian Magistrates command Christians even as to the Worship of God the Commandments of Christ answering to the Witness of Christ in their consciences that are to obey and not by carnal compulsion or the force of man against their Faiâ—h and Consciences are they not by Christians to be obeyed yea and even for Conscience sake But if the Commands of Magistrates whetâ—er as to their profession they be either Heathens of Câ—ristians be contrary to the Commands of God and our Lord Jesus Christ and against the Faith and Consciences of Gods faithful and true Worshippers in this case is not the Lord rather to be obeyed than Men
Law of God compel any of his true worshipers to worship him by the force of Secular penalties punishments or is that worship acceptable to God which is by compulsion and force And to that which perhaps by some may be said That the penalties and punishments herein mentioned are the judgments and executions of the Law of the King I say are God's true Worshippers by the Laws and Prescriptions of men to worship God after that manner which is contrary to that which by the Law of God is prescribed for his Worship or are they by penalties and punishments to be forc'd as to the Worship of God contrary to their Faith and to what they believe to be the true Worship of God and against their Consciences And was not the Law of God then the Law of the King also when the King by his Decree had established it as his Law to be administred in their Judicature Is not therefore that part of the King's Decree which in Ezra 7. 25 26. is contained intended by the King of the exercise of his Civil Power for his reforming of the Magistracy and outward Judicature in the Province of Judah for the Civil Government of the Jews according to the Law of God as to their outward man as in the Wisdom of God Ezra should be guided to direct it and not for his reforming of the Church as to the Worship of God for as to what in his Decree related to the House of God and his Worship and to the Ministers thereof did not his Decree end as to the before-mentioned with the end of the 24th verse of that chapter or did the King at all reform the Church as to the Worship of God otherwise than as by his Decree he submitted the reformation of it to the Commandments of God himself and by his ordering that to be diligently done for the House of the God of Heaven which either was or should be commanded by the God of Heaven as in ver 23. and also as by his Decree he protected the Jews in the free exercise of their Liberty as to their Consciences in their obedience to the Commands of God as to his own Worship and Service And as to that which perhaps by some may be objected That these penalties and punishments may be executed as to the matters of Religion and Worship because the Law of God is as well there mentioned as the Law of the King viz. Whosoever will not do the Law of thy God and the Law of the King c. To which I answer Was not the Law of God by the Law of the King established to be administred in the outward Government of the Jews as to the things of their outward man and to be executed upon Offenders in their Civil Judicature according to the nature and degree of each transgression as by the judgement of the Judicature they were sentenced whether unto Death or to Banishment or to Confiscation of Goods or Imprisonment for were not the Jews in their liberty from Captivity to be judged and governed according to the Law of God even as to the things of the outward man and by Magistrates and Judges that knew the Law of God And were not the Kings of Israel therefore to have â—ut 17. 19 20 a Book of the Law of God and therein to read all the dayes of their lives that they might learn the fear of the Lord their God and keep the words of his Law and his Statutes to do them and that their hearts might not be lifted up above their Brethren nor they turn aside from the Command of God neither to the right-hand nor to the left And in order to the administration and execution of the Law of God in their Civil Judicature was not Ezra therefore after the wisdom of God as his guide by the King's Decree to settle Magistrates and Judges that knew the Law of God and to teach them that knew it not for had not Ezra prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord to do it and to teach in Israel Statutes and Judgments And did not the King direct his Commission to Ezra as to a Scribe of the â—ra 7. 11 12. Law of God and a Teacher of the words of the Commandments of God and of his Statutes to Israel And do not Statutes there relate to State-Government and Civil Judicature And was not Ezra by the King and his seven Counsellors sent to enquire concerning Judah and Ierusalem according to the Law of his God were not therefore these penalties and punishments in the administration of the Law of God by Magistrates and Judges which knew the Law of God to be executed upon malefactors for their capital or criminal offences against the Law of God rather than upon Innocent and regular people for the exercise of their Faith and Consciences to God in his Worship and Service And may not these penalties and punishments be annexed by the King to inforce his Decree and accordingly to be executed upon any of the Jews adversaries that at any time should oppose this his new Constitution of the Magistracy for the Government of the Jews according to the Law of God for had not the Jews many potent Adversaries nigh them who waited opportunities to mischieve them as in the case of the building of the Temple were not many exasperated against the Jews lest by it their Idolatrous High-Places should be clouded So in time might not their potent Adversaries be exasperated at this new Reformation of the Magistracy for their Civil Government according to the Law of God in which they had not the same opportunity as Lords of their own Rule to tyrannize over the Jews as formerly And withall may not these executions viz. unto Death or to Banishment or to Confiscation of Goods or to Imprisonment the rather be thus particularly signified and expressed thereby to demonstrate the greatness of their Authority by the King's Commission for the administration of the Law of God in their Civil Government and the ample Power which by the King's Decree was given them for the execution of Judgement in their Judicature as to the things of the outward man Which Power here thus largely extended was afterwards denied them by the Romans when under their Dominion it was not lawful for the Jews to put any man to death Iohn 18. 31. And as to that which in this kind is objected by some of the examples of the Kings of Israel and Iudah viz. That they exercised Authority in the matters of Religion c. and that therefore Christian Magistrates may now yea and that they ought so to exercise their Power and Dominion over Christians as even to force and compel them as to the maner of the Worship of God though it be contrary to their Faith and against their Consciences To which I answer first Do not the Statutes of several Kingdoms in Christendom differ as to the matters of Religion and their manners and
termed foolish men for what reason is there for just and righteous men to disown Government that to say just and righteous Government that are so obedient to the Government of God's Spirit ruling in them which Spirit of God is to govern Governours in their Governments as that their conversation is so according to good Government as that good Government hath no Law against them What reason is there for people that are subject to the Government of God to be against the Government of men if they rule according to God whose Kingdom is to rule over all and that administer their Government for the Lords sake for the punishment of evil-doers and for the praise of them that do well for although unrighteous Rulers who know not the Lord to rule over them and by them nor are subject to his Power in their Governments by their corrupt rule and misgovernment and abuse of their Power do persecute the Innocent that obey the Government of God for their Righteousness sake yet the Government of men by the Ordinance of God is not to push against the Government of God in his People that are of his own Houshold and Family and under his own Government in whom his Kingdom is come and his Will is done who know the Lord to be their Ruler and are subject unto his Power and Rule in them and over them and obey him as their King their Lawgiver and Judge who by their obedience to the Reign and Government of God do answer and fulfil the just and good Government of men and therefore there is no reason for the Quakers who are under the Government of God to be against the Government of men that rule according to the Ordinance of God Again Rulers are not to be a terror to good works but their Sword is to be turned against the evil and they are to minister their good to well-doers and therefore those who are redeemed from their evil-deeds which the Power of God in Rulers is God's Sword to punish they need not to fear the Power the occasion of the Sword being subdued in them by the Power of their Redeemer but the People called Quakers are redeemed from the evil deeds which the Sword of the Magistrate is to punish so that they are not chargeable by any to be conversant therein for they having renounced the hidden things of dishonesty are not found in criminal offences nor are they by the â—oberest of men charged with any ungodly or vicious living to which the Magistrate is to be a terrour And therefore the Quakers need not to fear the Power which to Magistrates is given by God for the punishment of evil-doers only and not to punish well-doers the occasion of the Sword being subdued in them by the Power of their Redeemer who breaks in pieces and hath broken in them the power and rule of darkness which keeps in transgression and subdues the transgressor and keeps out of transgression unto whose Power in them which is the Higher Power in which Rulers are to govern that over-rules and rules over the power and rule of darkness and that chains down the evil-doer and restrains his evil deeds their souls are subject Again Rulers by the Ordinance of God are to minister their good to well-doers and therefore those who are in the exercise of good-works by the power of their Head Christ Jesus working in them who is the Head of all Principalitie and Power of whom alone is all the just Authority and Rule that is derived unto the Rulers of all Nations and by whose Power Rulers are to govern his Power in their Governments is for their praise who by his Power in them are exercised in good-works which good-works are the fulfilling of good Government and unto which good Governours are a praise But the Quakers are a People that are exercised in good works by the power of their Head Christ Jesus working in them so as that they are an example of good works at this day in the Nation the proof of which they have in the consciences of all sober People and therefore Magistrates are to minister their good unto the Quakers as unto well-doers and to protect and encourage them in their well-doing For the Power of Christ as it rules in Government is for their praise who by his Power in them are exercised in good works which good works are the fulfilling of good Government and unto which good Governours are a praise as it is written Wilt thou then not be afraid of the Power do 13. that which is good and thou shalt have praise of the same for he is the Minister of God to thee for good Those who in the Divine and Spiritual Light of their Creator are subject to the righteous Law of their Maker which in their hearts is written from their creation the Law of the Creation which from the beginning hath been given by God in common to all Nations before the Law of Moses to the Jews was given the Creators Law to his creatures and as their Sovereign Lord over all Sovereignty and Lordship his Law for the government of the Creation and so the Common-Law of all Nations according to which the Nations by their Rulers are to be governed as the Jews by their Rulers were to be governed according to the Law of Moses these by their obedience to the righteous Law of God they obey the righteous Laws of men for conscience-sake and submit to every Ordinance of man for the Lord's sake and so their obedience to the Laws of men and their submission to every Ordinance of man is without the force of the Law or the wrath of man for which they merit of the Magistrate his praise and the Laws protection for their encouragement in their wel-doing For in the Law of God is contained the true principles of all Law and Justice that by Rulers in their Governments is to be administred and every Ordinance of man viz. the Magistracy and Government of every Nation is to be composed and constituted according to the Law of God and by the Law of God as their principle and their inward guide their Laws their Judgments and Sentences are to be directed and regulated And therefore those who are subject to the righteous Law of God the record of which is written in their hearts they keep the Laws of men and every Ordinance of man that is according to the Law of God and his Ordinance for the Laws of men are not to derogate from the Law of God nor is any Ordinance of man so to be of man as not to be of God for the motive to submit to every Ordinance of man is for the Lord's sake and therefore every Ordinance of man in their original must be of God and of man only formally as by man composed and constituted And as every Ordinance is of man so every Ordinance must by man be ordained for the Lords sake that so every Ordinance of man may be
who indeed are but as Lambs among Wolves and a prey to the beasts of the field and do not resist the evil and the wrong that is done unto them nor retalliate like for like not being overcome of evil but overcoming evil with good Nor is it their principle to plot and contrive Insurrections but patiently to bear their false Calumnies and chearfully to suffer their cruel Oppressions and are not ashamed of the Commandments of God to do his will nor of the Testimony of Christ for which they suffer but by the Power of God are made willing to partake of the Afflâ—ctions of the Gospel and do glory in their Tribulations not loving their lives to the death And loving their Enemies and praying for their Persecuters they commit the keeping of their Souls unto him who in his Faith and Patience is able to keep them throughout unto Himself in this their day of tryal and hour of temptation that by the fierce and sore wrath of man is come upon them And is it not as dangerous and more disloyalty to God for any to defame and judge Gods true Worshippers as seditious Sectaries who in the Spirit and in the Truth do worship God and God's spiritual and holy Worship into which by the Spirit of God they are led to be seditious Conventicles who is a Spirit and the Truth and therefore must be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth and such spiritual and true Worshippers the Father seeks to worship him John 4. 23 24. For is not this to defame and to judge the holy Spirit of God by which God's true Worshipers are led and in which they holily and spiritually do worship God to be seditious and his holy and spiritual Worship to be Sedition for is it not written He that speaketh evil of his Brother and judgeth his Brother speaketh evil of the Law and judgeth the Law but if thou judge the Law thou art not a doer of the Law but 〈…〉 Are Christians to be each others Judges in the matters of Faith and Religion or are they to be Masters over the Consciences one of another concerning the Worship of God Is not the Lord himself alone both the Lawgiver and Judge as to his own Spiritual Worship and Service for is it not written There is one Lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy Who art thou that judgest another Jam. 4. 12. And if God only be the Lawgiver and Judge as to his own Worship and Service is it then in the power of any living upon the face of the Earth to prescribe to God his Worship or for the Worship of God with man's judgement to judge his true Worshippers And do not they prescribe who by their Laws and Penalties do bind and limit to a form of Worship not prescribed or limited unto by God nor in the practice of the Apostles and primitive Christians And do not they judge who arraign and sentence even to Prisons and Banishment them that for Conscience-sake cannot submit to what by men is prescribed for the Worship of God And are not their Meetings of the Lord and sealed in them to be well-pleasing in his sight by his Presence with them and his Appearance in them and among them for are not the manifestations of his Spirit and the operations of his Power in their holy Assemblies a sure Testimony from God of his acceptance of them in his Service and Worship And have they not then God's Authority for their meeting together in his Name the only Lord of their Consciences and the only Lawgiver for his own Worship and Service And must Magistrates in the things of the outward man by Christians be obeyed for Conscience-sake in things not against Conscience And must not the Lord himself by his People be obeyed for Conscience-sake in the things of the inward man And must every Ordinance of man be submitted unto for the Lord's sake that is not against the Lord and must not the Lord himself be submitted unto for his own sake by his true Worshippers in his own worship and Service And is not this to domineer and rule over and over-rule the Faith and Consciences of God's true Worshippers which by both Papists and Protestants in words is disclaimed which condemns their deeds to impose upon them in the Worship of God not only contrary to what in the sight of God is made manifest in their Consciences for the VVorship of God and which is according to the VVord of Truth and as by the Spirit of Christ in their hearts is prescribed to them but also in other manner than by the Apostles and primitive Christians God was worshipped before either the Common-Prayer Book or the Mass-Book was whose manner of VVorship was then said to be contrary to Law and by them called Heresie who reputed their own according to Law as it fares at this day with the Quakers who after the manner which is now called Heresie by them who are themselves in the Heresie they as the Apostles did do worship God even their Father in the Spirit and in the Truth And if the Apostles and primitive Christians did meet together above the number of Four besides the houshold and in their Meeting did worship God in other manner than is allowed by the Liturgy or practice of the Church of England before the Liturgy was why should it be made an unlawful meeting now and so capital as to be so severely punished as with Banishment for the Quakers to meet together before the Lord above the number of Four besides the houshold and in their meeting to worship God in that manner in which God may be worshipped otherwise than is allowed by the Liturgy or practice of the Church of England and as by the Apostles and primitive Christians God was worshipped before the Liturgy was to wit in the Spirit and in the Truth as they did seeing they are of the same Faith and in the same Spirit and Truth and under the same obligation as to their Consciences as they were And by Christ are purchased into the same Liberty for the free exercise of their Faith and Consciences towards God in his own Worship and one towards another in the Truth and Service of God and one another in the Lord which Liberty freely to exercise their Faith and Consciences in the Worship of God they may no more part with in vassalage to man than with their Lives for in the Liberty and Freedom of their Faith and Consciences in which Christ hath made them free are they not to stand fast to God alone whose Servants they are and the only Lord and Master of their Faith and Consciences and not again to be entangled with the Yokes of Bondage lest by captivating the Faith and defiling their Consciences they so become the servants of men as not becoming the Servants of Christ And if any notwiâ—hstanding what hath been said do yet assert That the Worship prescribed in the Liturgy is the only and true
do they worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men â—th 9. And for the Servants of God to resign the power over their souls and their soul-concernments into the hands of men and for them in subjection to the commandments of men to yeeld up the dominion over their consciences to man which only belongs to God is not this in the things of God to make themselves the Servants of men and herein is not the Lord rejected and his Soveraignty and Dominion contemned and reproached And in the concerns of their eternal being do they not in this stand or fall to men as their Masters or will Christ profit them any thing who in the things which concern his own Heavenly Kingdom and Government do yeeld their Souls and their Consciences to be yok'd and bound by men Are not the Lord's Servants here in the things of the Lord both by the Apostles Doctrine and Example to be left to their Lord's Judgement and to stand or fall as by his Justice they are either justified or condemned without their being judged by mans judgment And as amongst men it is accounted unequal for one man to exercise authority over another mans Servant and an injury to the Master So doth not the Lord here by the Apostle sharply reprove the presumption of those who at all take upon them to judge the Lord's Servants in the matters of Religion especially in those things which are owned â—â—t 18 7 8 â—0 by him and which by him are allowed in them and wherein the Lord hath received them and doth accept of them And will not the Lord as severely judge them and their usurpation and Hypocrisie as they in the exercise of authority over the Lord's Servants are severe in their judgments and do judge that which is of God in them for is it not an high provocation in them and are not they usurpers who exercise authority over the Servants of Christ in those things in which Christ only is their Lawgiver and their Judge And are not they hypocrites who under the pretence of their service to Christ do persecute the Members and Servants of Christ and that pretend it good service to God to make strong the bands of the Righteous and with the fist of wickedness to smite the Lord's Servants And when the Lord comes to make inquisition for Blood and wrongs done in an hour that they are not aware of will he not then remember them and appoint them their portion with Hypocrites For as to the matters of Conscience in Religion the Worship of God and all those things which relate to the inward man is not every man to stand before the Judgement-Seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body and is not this by the Apostle made use of as an Argument or Reason why Christians should not therefore judge one another in the matters of Religion nor set at nought their Brother in things in which he is neither to himself nor to any man but to the Lord only in that which he saith But why dost Rom. 10 1 thou judge thy Brother or why dost thou set at nought thy Brother we shall all stand before the Judgment seat of Christ For it is written As I live saith the Lord Every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God Doth not the Apostle herein reprove among Christians their judging one another and their setting at nought one another in the matters of Religion and all those things in which they are to the Lord and not to themselves or to man both as an usurpation of Gods right to whom only every knee must bow and every tongue confess as to all those things which are only proper to the Judgment of God and not to mans judgment and also as a violation of the Brotherhood which relation of equality and fellowship as Brethren in the things of God amongst Christians and as Members together of the same Body should be preserved in the unity of the Spirit and by the bond of Peace and to defer them from it by their being accountable to God for it Are not the Lord's Servants in the things of God which by Christ aâ—e distinguished from the things that are Cesars therefore to be left it liberty by Magistrates to stand or fall to their own Master that is to say as to their Consciences in matters of Religion and the Worship of God For in the regiment of their Souls and the dominion over their Consciences is not the Lord only their Master and not man And are they not therefore bought with a price that in the things of God they should not be the servants of men And wherein they are Freemen to be at liberty from the Laws of men are they not therein the Lord's Servants and under the Law to Christ and even in the Body are they not accountable to Him as their Judge whose Judgement-seat is set up in their Souls And by the Law of Christ are they not judged if they transgress in things in which rhey are at liberty from the Laws of men for doth not his Law take hold where their Laws cannot reach and are not their thoughts and the intents of their hearts opened in them and manifest to the searcher of hearts For is not the Sword of his Spirit i. e. his Word which is nigh them quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged Sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joynts and marrow to the descerning of the thoughts and intents of the heart And is not the Judge of all which either justifies or condems in every mans conscience alwayes before the door of their hearts in their own consciences to condemn al that either entreth in or cometh forth that is against him as it is written Grudge not one against another Brethren â—â— 5. lest ye be condemned behold the Judge standeth before the door And in that which by the Apostle is concluded as inevitable viz. So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God Doth he â—â—m 14 â— not herein reasonably exclude the judgments of men in the matters of Religion and Conscience relating to the Worship of God as himself next saith viz. Let us not therefore judge one another any more but â—â— 14 â— judge this rather that no man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall in his Brothers way for seeing that no man can by any means redeem his Brother nor give to God a ransom for his soul but that every one must account for himself to God is it therefore reasonable that any man should impose upon another contrary to his faith and conscience and in the spiritual concernments of his soul relating to his everlasting being in which the Imposer cannot answer to God satisfactorily for the imposed upon nor redeem his soul he therein miscarrying And do not they put stumbling-blocks in
their Brothers way and an occasion for him to fall who impose upon their Brother in spiritual things contrary to his faith and conscience for whatsoever is not of faith is â—â—m 14. sin and if his own conscience condemn him God is greater And forasmuch as every one must account for himself to God is it â—ohn 3. â— not therefore also reasonable that in the things of God every man's conscience should be thorowly satisfied and their minds by the Lord Jesus Christ fully perswaded as it is written Let every man be fully â—â—m 14 perswaded in his own mind rather than that any should be forced contrary to their minds and against their consciences by the laws of men for is not every one that doubteth in what he doth condemned in himself as it is written He that doubteth is damned if he eat Doth â—â—r 23. it not therefore concern every one that believeth to keep the Faith by which he stands even as he hath received and his conscience void of offence as it is written Hast thou Faith have it to thy self before â—er 22. God Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing he alloweth And is not every mans conscience to be perswaded by the Lord Jesus Christ as saith the Apostle I know and am perswaded by the Lord Jesus â—er 14. c. and rather by the terrour of the Lord than by the terrour of men as it is written Knowing therefore the terrour of the Lord we Cor. 5 perswade men c. And in order therefore to their being fully satisfied in their consciences by the Lord Jesus are they not in the Light of Christ to try things that differ and in all are they not to prove what that good and perfect Will of God is And when in the true discerning of that which is right in the sight of God they are fully perswaded and their consciences thorowly satisfied by the Lord Jesus Christ are they not stedfastly to hold fast the Good whatsoever Laws by men may be made against it as it is written Prove all things hold fast that which is 1 Tâ—â— 5. 21 good for otherwise if the matters of Faith and the manner of Gods Worship should depend upon the Laws of men may not then our Faith and Religion and the manner of God's Worship as oft be changed as the minds of Magistrates may change And is it not possible that Magistrates may err in matters of Religion and Worship for therein are they not of different minds in Europe and for the People to be seduced even by their Magistrates for of Manasseh is it not said that he seduced the People to do more evil 2 Kâ—â— 21. 9 2 Kiâ— 17. â— Isa â— 12. than did the Nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel And did not Jeroboam drive Israel from following the Lord and make them sin a great sin And doth not the Lord by the Prophet Isaiah as grieved therewith say O my People they which lead thee cause thee to err and destroy the way of thy paths And did not Judah quote to the Prophet Jeremiah as examples the Antiquity of their Ancestors and the Authority and Practice of her Rulers for the abominable Idolatrous Jer. â— 17. Worship in the exercise of which she promised to her self both peace and plenty And were not the Idolatrous Priests ordained by the Kings of Judah 2 Ki 23. 5 to burn Incense in the High-Places in the Cities of Judah and in the Places round about Jerusalem And in the true and Spiritual Worship of God is there not the exercise and operation of the true and living Faith which worketh by Love for was it not by Faith that Abel offered a more acceptable Sacrifice than Cain and without Faith it is impossible to please God for he that approacheth to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder Heb. 4 6. of them that diligently seek him And is this Faith either in the gift of Magistrates or doth it operate by the force of their Laws And in order that the Lord may be truly spiritually and acceptably worshipped must there not be of necessity an understanding in some measure of the Will of God in his Worshippers and so mixt with Faith as that their minds may be fully perswaded and their consciences thorowly satisfied both as to the matter and manner of his Worship or else will not their Sacrifice be as of the blind and the halt and maimed And is this understanding of the Will of God given to them by the exercise of Secular-Force or are their consciences to be satisfied by the executions of the Laws of men and their Renalties Or rather are they not to look into the perfect Law of Liberty the Iam. 25. Royal Law on which hangs all the Law and the Prophets and according to which the Laws of men ought to be regulated which in their hearts is written and not in litteral or outward Commands nor by the Prescriptions of men but with the Spirit of the living God and therein to learn of Christ the will of God concerning his own Worship and Service And must not the Lord be worshipped by his own spiritual and immortal Birth and with the returns of the breathings of his own Life in the unity of his own Spirit and of the Truth as it is in Jesus and rather according to the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus than either with the Inventions or by the Precepts of men Or can the Lord be truly and spiritually worshipped on earth but by his own Spirit and in the Truth and of them that are of his Spirit And is the Spirit of the Lord either to be limited or directed by men for doth not the Prophet of the Lord say Who hath directed the Spirit of the â—â— 40. Lord or being his Counsellor hath taught him Or do themselves truly discern the Spiritual Worship of God in the inward feeling of that which is Immortal of God in them in which only God is to be worshipped and in the sensible motion and operation of the Spirit of God speaking in them and making Intercession for them according to the will of God and not after the will of man in which flesh is to be silent and the man passive who prescribes to others By Laws or Canons for the Worship of God for doth not the Apostle say We â—â— 8. know not what to pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh request for us with sighs which cannot be expressed And doth not Christ say It is not ye that speak but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh â—att â— 20. in you And if the Apostles knew not beforehand what to pray for as they ought is the Lord then truly and spiritually worshipped by the reading of stinted Forms of Prayer imposed for the publick Worship of God and which are not only
known beforehand but are also read week after week and year after year And if by might and power any should be forc'd astray to worship God in that manner which is contrary to the Law of God in their consciences though highly esteemed amongst men would not even their Prayers be their sin for doth not Solomon say He that turneth away his ear from hearing the Law even his prayer shall be abomination And he that causeth the Righteous to go astray by an evil way shall fall â—â— 28. â—0 into his own pit And is not their sin great and will not their stripes be many who either by force or subtilty are either drawn or driven to worship God after that manner which is contrary to their knowledge and conscience And if by the force of Might and Power any should be driven contrary to God's witness in their consciences will they not hereby be run into transgression and Rebellion against God and will not the Witness of God in them in their own consciences be their condemnation And is not Rebellion as the sin of Witchcraft and Transgression as Wickedness Idolatry And are their own consciences pure and without offence and tender and in the feeling of anothers conscience or rather are not their consciences reprobated without remorse and unsensible who by force would defile and offend and even wound and wrack the consciences of others And do not they sin against Christ the Head who so sin against his Body the Church and who grieve his Spirit and oppress his Members by imposing rigorously upon them heavy burdens which they are not able to bear even to the wounding of their consciences if they submit and as much as in them lyeth to destroy their souls for whom Christ died And if the doubtful thoughts of them that are weak in the Faith in things that are lawful in themselves are not to be judged as it is written Rom. 14. 1. Him that is weak in the Faith receive you but not to judg his doubtful thoughts see the margent Is the faith and certain knowledge of God's true Worshippers then to be judged as to the manner of God's Worship which they assuredly believe to be the will of God and certainly know to be of the Lord and required of them as his Law unto them Was the noise either of Hammer or Ax or of any Tool of Iron heard in the House of God whilst it was in building by Solomon And are the Laws of men then and their Penalties and Punishments to be the Foundations now on which God's Spiritual House is to be built or is the matter for the House of God now to be hewen out and hammered and prepared by armed-men and the noise of the clattering of Arms with which the peaceable Meetings of the Quakers have been often assaulted and broken up and their Bodies hurt and bruised Is Force and Violence exercised by men on the Body the way of God to save the soul Did not the Prophet in the power of God and in the might of his Spirit declare against them who built up Zion with blood and Ierusalem with wrong And is it not uncharitable among Christians and against the Law both of Love and Equity and that which they would not be done unto themselves for one to impose upon another as to their Faith and Conscience in the matters of Religion and Worship contrary to the Law which rules in their Consciences and to that which they believe to be the Will of God and to that in which they are not to themselves but to the Lord and to that in which the Lord hath received them and doth accept of them For doth not the Royal Law command to love thy neighbour as thy self and hath not Christ to his Disciples â—â— 2. commanded saying Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you do ye even so to them for this is the Law and the Prophets â—att 2. Are not even Gainsayers by sound Doctrine both to be convinced and exhorted and in meekness are not they to be instructed who oppose themselves and are not even unbelievers and them that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be gathered by the Word of God preached and to be won by moderation and soberness and by the good conversation of them that believe And is not the Word of God of more force inwardly to execute the righteous Judgments of God for disobedience and to convince perswade and compel to obedience than all the force and strength of men for is it not therefore by the Lord likened to a Fire and to a Hammer which breaks the Rocks in pieces reader Ier. 23. 29. 20. 9. 6. 11. 5. 14. Isa 49. 2. 30. 30. 11. 4. And was not the Baptism of Repentance which by Iohn was preached as an Ax from God in his hand for the cutting down of fruitless Trees and were not they prickt in their hearts with the force of the Word and the authority of the Doctrine which by the Apostles was preached And did not Foelix tremble before Paul when he reasoned of Righteousness and Temperance and of Judgment to come And is not therefore the matter for the building of the Church of God to be prepared by the Ministry of his Word in God's Authority rather than by the force and terror of men And are not even those that oppose themselves to be subdued by the Gospel of Christ unto the obedience of God in his Spiritual Service and Worship For is not the Gospel of Christ the Power of God And is not the Authority of the Word and the Force of the Gospel in which the Power of God is made manifest the means by God appointed to satisfie doubts and to decide Controversies in matters of Religion and manner of Worship For is not the Word of God both quick and powerful and the Sword of the Spirit and sharper for the convincement of Gainsayers than the two-edged Swords of men for doth it not pierce to the discerning of the thoughts and intents of the heart and inwardly force and compel where the Force of men can neither reach nor enter And if Power in Magistrates over the Faith and Consciences of God's faithful and true Worshippers in the matters of Religion and Worship be pretended unto as they are Magistrates may not then Antichristian or Heathen Magistrates pretend to the same power to over-rule the Faith of their Subjects and compel them to their Religion and by their penalties and punishments to force their Consciences to worship Idols And if such power in Magistrates be pretended unto as they are Christians are we not to distinguish between the Office or Authority of Magistrates in the administration of their Civil Power as Rulers and Governours and the Religion of Magistrates as they are Christians by which they have fellowship in the Church as Members of the Spiritual Body of which Christ only is the Head among them that
man rather than of exercising Authority over them as to their Religion and manner of Worship in that he was not provoked to anger against them nor at all displeased with them for their enterprizing the building of the Temple without either his Command for it or knowledge of it and for that they desisted not from building though they thereunto were required till the matter was made known to the King by the chief Governours for the King on that side the River And what reason is here then for any to quote the example of Darius as if he exercised authority over the Jews as to their building the Temple and as if they could not righteously enterprize it without Command from the King being first had for it seeing that when they began to build they were so far from having the Kings Command for it as that the King knew not of it till by his Governours he was informed of it and that the work went fast on and prospered in their hands and also seeing that the Governours for the King could not cause them to cease but till the matter came to the King that from the King they might know his pleasure therein And after the Interruption by the force and power of the former Artaxerxes Ezra 4. 23. and in the Reign of this Darius is it not manifest by the Scriptures that the Jews again began to build the Temple by the Command of God only through the Prophesying of the Prophets Haggai and Zecharia Ezra 5. 12. Hag. 1 1 2 3 4 7 8 Hag. 1.1 12. And was not the spirit of Zerubbabel the Governour of Judah and the spirit of Joshua the High Priest and the spirit of all the remnant of the People by the Lord stirred up to work in the House of the Lord of Hosts their God Hag. 1. 14. And in that they could not be caused to cease but till the matter came to the King did they herein disobey the Governours for the King in contempt to his Government or rather was it not because the eye of their God was upon them Ezr. 5. 5. for did not they begin their work in obedience to the voice of the Lord their God and continue it in the fear of the Lord Hag. 1. 12. and was not the Lord's presence with them in their work as in that which is written Hag. 1. 13. I am with you saith the Lord And when the matter to wit of their building the Temple was made known to the King by Letter to him sent to that end from his Governours that were on that side the River did the King at all render the Jews as disaffected to his Government or disobedient to Magistrates or inconsistent with his Laws or did anger at all kindle within him against them for their enterprizing the building without his knowledge of it or commission for it or in his Decree did he at all intermeddle with them in their building either by his Commands to his Governours or by his own Commands to them except those Commands of his to his Governours to assist the Jews out of his Goods as to their great expence in building that they might not be hindred in their work and for Sacrifices to be given them day by day that by sweet savours offered to the God of Heaven they might pray for the life of the King and for the lives of his Sons Ezra 6. 8 9 10. for in the King's answer to the Governours that sent to him did not the King command the Governours not at all to meddle with the Jews in the building of the Temple but to let them alone that in peace they might build the Temple themselves in that which to them he saith Ezra 6. 6 7. Be ye far from them let the work of this House of God alone let the Governour of the Jews and the Elders of the Jews build this House of God in his place And did not the King by his Decree also protect them and strengthen their hands and inforce it by a great penalty and what in him lay did he not promote the continuance of their Protection by his Successors rather than to exercise authority over them as to the Temple and Worship of God as you may reade in Ezra 6. 11 12. And was not this also of the Lord who turneth the hearts of Kings as he pleaseth and not of the Heathenish nature as it is written Ezra 6. 22. For the Lord had made them joyful and turned the heart of the King of Assyria unto them to strengthen their hands in the work of the House of God the God of Israel And the Temple being finished in the sixth year of the Reign of Darius the King Ezra 6. 15. the Worship of God in his Reign was so established according to the Commandment of God Ezra 6. 16-22 as that here seems to be no need of a Reformation as to the Worship of God by Artaxerxes his Successor who by some is quoted for the Reformation of the Church And if in any thing the Church was not perfectly reformed as to the Worship of God might not the Worship of God as well be reformed by the Commandments of God in the Reign of Artaxerxes as they by the Commandment of God began to build the Temple in the Reign of Darius without either his Commission for it or knowledge of it May not the Reformation therefore by Artaxerxes the latter mentioned in Ezra 7. rather relate to the Civil Government of the Province of Judah which as yet was not reformed according to the Law of God than to the Worship of God in his Temple for when the Jews were not in Captivity but as free-men at liberty in their own Land were they not by the Ordinance of God both to be governed by Magistrates that knew the Law of God and also according to the Law which by God was given to Moses for their Government And to that end had not Ezra prepared his heart both to seek the Law of the Lord and to teach in Israel Statutes and Judgments Ezra 7. 10. And was not the hand of the Lord upon Ezra as well for the setling of the Civil Government in Judah according to the Law of God as for another return of the Jews to their own Land when Ezra made request to Artaxerxes the King who granted him all his request according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him Ezra 7. 6. for together with the King's Commission to Ezra given for all the People of Israel and the Priests and Levites that were within his Realm to go with Ezra that were minded of their own free-will to go up to Jerusalem was not Ezra as the King's Commissioner sent by Authority of the King and of his seven Counsellors to enquire concerning Iudah and Ierusalem according to the Law of God And over all the Land of Iudah and in Ierusalem to settle Magistrates and Judges that knew the Laws of God and to teach them